Family Portrait
by Kami no Noshikage
Summary: Chapter 4 is up! In a family portrait, looks can be decieving. SasuNaru eventual GaaNaru, Warnings: Yaoi or boy on boy, Mpreg, Domestic Violence, Rape
1. Where It All Began

**Family Portrait**

by Kami

**Disclamer:** I don't own the characters of Naruto nor the song Family Portrait, I do own the characters Joi, Taizen, and Namida and also the premise for this story.

**Summary: **In a family portrait, looks can be deceiving.

**Warnings:** Contains yaoi, mpreg, and domestic violence. Not your thing? Then don't Read! By the way, Sasuke is a little bit of a bastard in this story...I never really liked him anyways. So if you don't like stories where Sasuke is a bastard to Naruto, this story is not for you.

**A/N:** This first chapter is written as it appears in Joi's journal. After this chapter, the remaining chapters will go into third person and be more descriptive. Please don't be too judgmental and flame me because of that. Feedback is welcome, Flames will just be used to toast my marshmellows.

* * *

Mama please stop cryin'  
I can't stand the sound  
Your pain is painful  
and it's tearin' me down

I hear glasses breaking  
As I sit up in my bed  
I told God you didn't mean  
Those nasty things you said  
You fight about money  
about me and my brother  
And this I come home to  
This is my shelter

It ain't easy, growin' up in World War 3  
Never knowin' what love could be  
You'll see, I don't want love to destroy me  
Like it has done my family

Pink

* * *

**Chapter 1-Where It All Began**

It hung in the middle of the wall in the livingroom above the TV in the Uchiha Mansion. The portrait consisted of five smiling faces, two blonds and three raven heads. Mom and Dad, me, my little brother and little sister. We looked to be a happy family in that picture, but looks can be deceiving. We were far from happy.

My name is Uzumaki-Uchiha Joi and this is my story of how my family fell apart. I'm grown now, but the pain from so long ago is still there. My therapist tells me that writing my feelings down on paper can help me in my recovery, though I have my doubts. So, I guess here goes nothing.

Where to start? Well, my parents met in grade school, but didn't fall in love until high school. My mom, Uzumaki Naruto, was the out cast in school. He was often made fun of and became the butt of many practical jokes. My Dad, Uchiha Sasuke, was one of the most popular boys in school and instigated a lot of my mom's problems. When he told me about how they became friends, he talked about the cruelty he inflicted on Mom with regret. But he didn't realize that in some ways he was still being cruel to Mom.

After his parents were killed in a wreck caused by his brother Itachi's drunk driving, things changed. He didn't take joy in anything anymore. That's when he started noticing the cruelty that Mom was enduring. He started taking up for him and the two became inseparable. Up until High school they were almost like brothers.

Dad had said that it was in the 9th grade that he noticed his attraction for guys. Actually one guy in particular, Mom. He noticed how beautiful Mom was with his sunshine blond hair and how it shown when the sun hit it just right, with his Mediterranean blue eyes how they sparkled when he was excited, and how his lithe form, though still masculine, curved with a feminine grace. And who can forget Mom's smile, one that could light up a room and bring sunshine to someone's cloudy day. Dad knew he was in love, but was afraid on how to approach Mom on the subject.

When he finally did tell Mom how he felt, Mom rejected him, at first. Mom's reasoning was his condition which he felt made him a freak. Though he knew that their friendship might end because of this, Mom told Dad that he had Tetragametic chimerism, a rare condition that only affects 1 of the worlds population. And because of the chimerism, he not only had male sex organs, but female as well, which allowed him to carry children. But instead of Dad shunning him, he embraced him, telling Mom that they had a gift given to them and that one day they could have children of their own.

Dad was never ashamed of his relationship with Mom and never had a problem with public displays of affection. They were often seen holding hands while walking to class or even making out in the hallways between classes. Everything seemed like sunshine and roses, up until the 10th grade when Mom got pregnant...with me. Then everything seemed to go downhill from there.

My Jijii, Iruka, was furious when he found out. He took Mom out of school and demanded that Dad take responsibility for his actions. Which he did; they married when Mom was three months pregnant. They struggled at first, staying with Jijii until I was born, then getting a small apartment in downtown Konoha. Dad had to work full time and go to school, while Mom stayed home and took care of me and the apartment and did the shopping to meet our needs. They fought constantly, Dad over how Mom wasn't pulling his weight and how Dad had to work and go to school while Mom lounged around the apartment all day, and Mom arguing that while Dad was working and going to school that he had to juggle taking care of me, keeping the apartment clean, and doing home school so that he could graduate high school and that Dad had no right telling him that he was a lazy dobe. The fighting went on for months, and it seemed that my parents' relationship was doomed to fail.

Then, finally, Dad caught a break. He had written a poem entitled "Daddy's Little Girl" for a literature project and handed it in to the teacher. My dad's teacher thought it was so good, that he had submitted it to Reader's Digest that was holding a poetry contest, first prize was $500 and the poem would be submitted to a publisher to be published. Dad's poem won, of course. So imagine his surprise when, one day, he walked into his Literature class and the teacher handed him a check for $500.

Since that time, Dad had become an accomplished writer and had written 5 novels, three ending up on the Best Seller's List. Things started getting better between him and Mom. The arguing decreased a great deal, but still, they argued over some things, just not as often. They waited five years to have another baby. I was only five when Taizen, my little brother, was born. Then two years after Taizen, Namida was born.

It wasn't until I was ten that I noticed that things were not as they seemed. I thought we were a perfectly normal happy family and everything was great. How wrong I was.

It was near the end of May, the time when things started really feeling like summer. Taizen had gotten his test results back from the company where Mom bought our home schooling supplies and where he sent our tests, and they stated he had a 6th grade reading level and he had scored high on all other subjects as well. Mom was so proud of him, he decided to order pizza for our supper as a reward. Mom teased him, ruffling his raven hair, saying he was just as smart if not smarter than Dad, causing him to blush and hid his sapphire blue eyes hoping Mom's gushing affection would dissipate by the next day.

We were just in the middle of eating the second sausage and mushroom pizza, Taizen's favorite, Dad arrived home from the meeting he had with his publisher. He glanced around the table at us and then spied the pizza. He fixed Mom with a stony glare.

"Who said you could order pizza?" His tone sounded dangerous, and I wondered what he was so mad about. It was just pizza.

"Well," Mom began, flashing his sunshine filled smile at Dad, hoping to calm his anger with the explanation, "Taizen's test results came back and he scored extremely high. So, I thought-"

"You thought?" Dad interrupted and I could swear his onyx colored eyes turned red. "You thought you could just blow some fucking money without consulting me first?"

Mom jumped at the language my father used, his azure blue eyes widened with fear. He then turned to me, "Joi, take Taizen and Namida and go to your room. Now!"

I nodded in compliance, lifting Namida in my arms, her long blond hair swishing in my face as I adjusted her onto my hip, and grabbed Taizen's hand, lugging him towards my room. I closed the door behind me and set Namada on her feet. There was a worried look in her onyx eyes.

"Why is Daddy so mad at Mommy?" She questioned looking close to crying. If I had to say, I was a little worried about Mom myself, never seeing Dad get so worked up over money like that before. I opened the door a crack to peer outside and see what was transpiring between our parents.

"What's going on?" Taizen inquired, trying to get between me and the door so he could peek out it too, but to no avail.

"Shhhhhhh. Be quiet," I hissed in reply as I keened my ears to hear what was being said.

"-to find you pigging out on fucking pizza!!" I could hear my dad yell, and I began to chew on my bottom lip as he continued, "Do you fucking realize we are on a budget? Do you even think? No, you don't fucking think! You just do it!"

SMASH!! I jumped at the sound. A plate thrown on the floor by my mother, I could see the fierce determination and anger in his face.

"Damnit, Sasuke!!" He screamed shrilly, and I shuddered, I had never seen them fight like that, "Taizen is our son!! I was doing this for him!! And you had to come in and fucking ruin it for him!! And we don't do this kind of thing for our kids that often, so why don't you get off my fucking back!!"

"That's not the point, Naruto!" My father growled in retort, "You could have called me and fucking asked me about it!!"

"You were in a fucking meeting with that Orochimaru asshole!!" Mom screamed almost to the top of his lungs, "It's not like I can call and interrupt and you not get pissed off!! And why the hell do I have to consult you with every fucking decision I make?!"

"Because I'm your damn husband and I bring home that money you've been spending!!" Dad's face was only inches away from Mom's when he said this, "I can't sit around all day expecting money to land in my fucking lap like you do!! When's the last fucking time you got off your ass and looked for a job?!"

"Don't you dare say I sit around here and do nothing!!" Mom's words were laced with venom, "I don't work so I can take care of the kids home schooling and make sure you don't have a nasty fucking house!! If it wasn't for me, this house would be falling apart!! I never fucking complain when you leave you're nasty clothes in the floor or when you track mud in the house!! I do every fucking thing you tell me to do and it's still not enough, because I'm just a lazy mother fucker in your eyes!!"

"If the kids are such a fucking problem and that's why you can't find a job, then why don't you send them over to your damn father's?!" Dad spat out, "I'm sure that he'd be more than happy to take them off your hands!"

"Don't you dare refer to **MY **babies that way!!" Mom shoved our father away from him, "They're the only thing that make living with** YOU **bearable!! I am sick of your shit, Sasuke!! If I want to treat one of **MY **babies to something because they did a good job, I'm gonna fucking do it!! We have enough money to treat them once in a while! You would see that if you weren't such a bastard with the money!!"

SMACK!! I gasped seeing our father's closed fist connect with Mom's face, his small frame on the floor cowering beneath our father's. He looked at Dad in total shock, tears starting to pour down his tan scarred face. Our father seemed to be unshaken by what he had just done, glaring down at our mother with an apathetic expression.

"I'm going out," He said his voice now calm as he made his way to the door and grabbed the car keys off the counter, "This shit better be cleaned up by the time I get back." And he was gone.

I closed the door to my room, not believing what I had just witnessed. I ran my fingers through my long raven hair as if I was trying to wipe away that horrible memory. I was shaking, I wanted to cry but forced back the tears.

"What...happened?" Taizen spoke breaking the silence. I turned to him seeing that his brows were knitted together with worry.

"Nothing," I lied, giving him a small smile, "Nothing at all. Let's get ready for bed."

* * *

That morning, the kitchen looked as though nothing had happened. But the memory was far from erased from my mind. I looked up at my mother as he set pancakes on the table for our breakfast. His left cheek was sporting a large ugly purple bruise, the only evidence that the fight the night before was real. He noticed I was watching him and gave me a sad smile and a kiss on top of my dark haired head. Dad looked as though nothing had transpired between them, as he looked through the advertisement section of the daily newspaper.

"Mommy?" Namida blinked her dark eyes in question at the bruise on our mother's cheek, "You've got an owie."

Mom gently touched the left side of his cheek, and smiled softly at her, "Oh, this? It's nothing, sweety. I just...fell." A lie.

Namida nodded her blond head, satisfied with Mom's answer, and continued to devour her pancakes.

"Hey, Dobe," Our father spoke finally, "There's a housekeeping job in here that's offering a few hours a day. It shouldn't keep you from the kids that much, so, it would be perfect for you."

"Sasuke-koi," Mom couldn't prevent the frown from marring his face, "I wish you wouldn't call me that in front of the children."

"Why?" Dad glanced up at him, tearing his eyes from the newspaper momentarily, "It's true...you are a dobe."

I saw the hurt expression on Mom's face as he said that. Mom walked over to the sink, turning on the faucet, and prepared the water to wash dishes. I saw his shoulders trembling and his head hang low to where his blond bangs covered his eyes. I walked over to place my plate in the water, glancing up at him. I was surprised to see the tears rolling down his cheeks. Mom was crying. As I walked away from the sink and back to the table, I heard him utter one word, "Teme..."

**TBC...**

**A/N:** Well, there ya have it. I know, I know...my first chapters always suck. But my second chapters come out better. I will have the next chapter ready in...well, it depends on the response. Ja ne!


	2. Humiliation

**Family Portrait**

by Kami

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters of Naruto nor the song Hurting Each Other, I do own the characters Joi, Taizen, and Namida and also the premise for this story.

**Summary: **In a family portrait, looks can be deceiving.

**Warnings:** Contains yaoi, mpreg, and domestic violence. Not your thing? Then don't Read! By the way, Sasuke is a little bit of a bastard in this story...I never really liked him anyways. So if you don't like stories where Sasuke is a bastard to Naruto, this story is not for you. Also a small lime...no lemon this chapter...wouldn't want to spoil you guys to expecting one every other chapter. I've always liked to tease first.

A/N: Welcome to chapter 2. This is where things start to get a little more interesting. By the way, this is a AU/AR and some characters, such as Orochimaru and Jiraya, may be a bit OOC. It's all because this fic was inspired by a dream I had, and in it Orochimaru wasn't the sicko, Jiraya was. Just please don't hate me because I made Oro into a likable guy, blame the dream I had. Everyone had a certain part to play in the dream, and I am trying to capture it, but I will try to keep the others as much in character as possible. Also, there will be a tad bit of humor during the dinner scene with Orochimaru and Jiraya, to lighten the mood of this chapter, because everyone knows kids say and do the darnedest things, and it kinda goes with the title.

As I said before in chapter 1, Feedback is welcome and flames only serve to warm me on cold nights.

Flash backs in bold italics

Thoughts in italics

* * *

No one in the world  
Ever had a love as sweet as my love  
For nowhere in the world  
Could there be a boy as true as you love  
All my love  
I give gladly to you  
All your love  
You give gladly to me  
Tell me why then  
Oh why should it be that.

We go on hurting each other  
We go on hurting each other  
Making each other cry  
Hurting each other  
Without ever knowing why.

The Carpenters

* * *

**Chapter 2-Humiliation**

Things seemed to be back to normal in the Uzumaki-Uchiha household. It had been a week since the incident between the blond and the raven, and the horrible bruise that had almost taken up the left side of Naruto's face had finally faded. And of that he was glad. It had been the first time Sasuke had ever hit him, and it hurt his pride and his feelings more than it had hurt physically. And the morning after, Sasuke only added insult to injury by humiliating him in front of their children. But afterwards, he smoothed things over. Sasuke would never apologize with words, his actions made the apology. Naruto's bronze cheeks flushed rose as he remembered how Sasuke had made things up to him.

_**Joi slowly glided away from the sink towards the cherry wood table the rest of the family occupied, a worried expression in her onyx and crimson mix-matched eyes. As she sat down, she glanced up at her father, Sasuke, and he turned from his newspaper to fix her gaze with his typical look of indifference, "What is it, Joi?"**_

_**"I think you hurt Mom's feelings," she murmured softly, as if to keep Naruto from hearing her, her gaze lowering towards the empty place where her plate had been, "He's crying."**_

_**Sasuke let his mask drop momentarily, an expression comprised of surprise and guilt crossed his usually emotionless face. He then gave Joi a rare soft smile. "Why don't you take your brother and sister out to the back yard to play a little while, ne? Give me and your Mom some time alone."**_

_**A brief fearful look passed over Joi's pale face, but she nodded and rose from her seat, pulling Namida out of her booster seat, and grabbed Taizen's hand, leading the two out the back door. Sasuke lay his newspaper down neatly on the table, emerged from his chair and walked up behind Naruto. He could hear the blond's sniffles as he pulled a plate from the sudsy water and began to scrub the remnants of breakfast off of it.**_

_**"Naruto?" Sasuke murmured softly close to the blond's ear, gently placing his hands comfortingly on Naruto's shoulders, "U**_**_ruwashii? (1)"_**

**_"A dobe," the blond man managed to say between quiet sobs, as he rinsed the dishes in the second compartment of the double sink, "Is that all I am to you? A stupid baka who can't do anything right?"_**

**_"No, koi," the raven began to place gentle and loving kisses along the tanned neck, "You're my everything. Without you, I couldn't survive. I've...just been really frustrated and stressed lately. Orochimaru is on my back about my manuscript being over a month late. You know how he is, koi. I just need you to bear with me a while longer. This will blow over as soon as it's finished. Then we can take that vacation in Cancun you've been wanting to take, just you and me."_**

**_Naruto shuttered at the raven's lips brushing softly against his neck, his azure eyes fluttering closed as he tilted his head to the side to expose more of the flesh of his neck, allowing Sasuke more access to nip and suck on the sensitive place next to his ear, "But...nnn...what about the...kids...ah..."_**

**_Both were beginning to become quite aroused and Sasuke began to grind the hardening, clothed bulge against the seat of the younger man's tight, blue-denim jeans, "Iruka can watch them while we're gone. We need some time alone. It's long overdo."_**

**_Naruto gave a small giggle as his cheeks began to flush, feeling the raven's clever fingers of one hand slide up underneath his orange tee shirt and against his abdomen, gently gracing the skin of his pectorals. He yelped as Sasuke pinched a dusky nipple firmly between his forefinger and thumb as the other hand slid slowly along his hips, across his thighs, and ghosted teasingly around the jut now protruding through the crotch of his jeans._**

**_"Not here," the now fully aroused blond whimpered, "What if one of the kids walked in?"_**

**_"Then I guess we'd better take this upstairs then, ne?" the raven spun the younger man around to face him. A sultry vulpine grin crossed the blonds face as he wrapped his arms around the older man's neck. Sasuke eyed the nasty purple and yellow colored bruise on the left cheek of his blond's face. He gently cupped his hand on the bruised cheek causing Naruto to flinch slightly at his touch. The raven's brows knitted together as an overpowering amount of guilt washed over him. He leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against the bruised area, "Aishiteru (2), Naruto...more than anything in this world...aishiteru."_**

Naruto sighed as a crimson blush tinged his cheeks, remembering the most passionate and best sex that he and Sasuke had in years. But it was not the time to reminisce. He was at the coffee shop for an interview, not to sit and think of hentai moments between Sasuke and himself.

The coffee shop "The Shougi House" stood next to the grocery store where Naruto often did the family's monthly shopping. It looked like a small out door cafe with mosaic bistro tables and chairs littering the outside. On the inside of the coffee shop, a glass display case exhibited muffins, pastries, balaclavas, doughnuts, cookies, and other different sweet treats that made the blond's mouth water. The shop was adorned with pictures of a oriental motif greatly contrasting with the mosaic floor tiling.

Naruto sat at one of the bistro tables, sipping on a small latte and taking in the surroundings with an air of anxiety. He knew he shouldn't be nervous...it was just an interview for a part time job. For the umpteenth time, he swiped his hand across the white polo shirt he was wearing as if trying to get rid of invisible wrinkles. His right leg jiggled anxiously beneath the table as he ran his fingers through thick locks of blond hair. _Where the hell is the manager? He told me to be here at 4 pm, and he's already kept me waiting for 30 minutes. I've got to get home and get started on dinner! What's taking him so fucking long? _As the blond young man contemplated leaving and looking elsewhere for work, he heard said manager yelling, quite possibly at an employee.

"Damnit, Gaara!!" The manager growled, and Naruto, feeling slightly intimidated, flinched at his tone. Maybe working there wasn't such a good idea, "Thirty minutes late!! Thirty minutes late!! Do you have any idea how troublesome it is to have to be at the register until you get here so I can do an interview?"

"Like I give a rat's ass," Came the deep, cool and smooth response, "If it's as 'troublesome' as you say, why don't you go ahead and fire me. This job isn't worth my time, anyways."

"You know I can't do that," the manager sounded as though he was hissing through his gritted teeth, "I promised my girlfriend that I would give you this job to get you off the streets."

"Just because you're fucking my sister, don't let that stop you." The 'Gaara' person retorted with a bored tone, "Fuck, I made more money 'dealing' in one day than I make in a week at this shit hole."

"Just stand by the register and do your job," The manager sighed, exhausted with arguing with the antagonistic employee, "Troublesome..."

A brunette man emerged from the inner shop and made his way towards Naruto, who had finally made the decision that working there was not a very good prospect and was preparing to leave. The pony-tailed brunette caught him just about when he was ready to walk away.

"I have to apologize," the brunette drawled almost lazily, as he cast a look of disapproval towards the inside of the coffee house, "I'm kinda hard pressed for employees so I was here by myself, waiting for that troublesome guy on night shift to come in. That's the reason I was late getting to your interview."

"That's alright, I really have to go anyways," the blond offered him an apologetic smile, "Thanks for the latte, but I think I've changed my mind."

"Onegai (3)! Don't leave!" the brunette gripped Naruto's arm to prevent him from walking away, a serge of panic apparent in the man's voice, "All I need is fifteen more minutes of your time!"

The blond sighed in defeat; Sasuke would not be happy that he came home late, but he would be less pleased if he came home with out getting this job. "Alright, just fifteen minutes and that's all."

"Great," the brunette sighed in relief, and finally removed the dark green apron he was wearing, revealing black slacks and a solid white collared button up shirt, "I'm Nara Shikamaru. Please, have a seat."

Naruto replaced himself back in his seat at the bistro table, his hands began to fidgeting beneath it out of the brunette's sight. However, the anxious aura that the blond was exuding caught Shikamaru's attention.

"Hey, man, relax," He gave the blond a lazy, yet reassuring grin, "This isn't the Spanish Inquisition and I'm not Pope Alexander VI (4)," He waited until the younger man had calmed, then glanced down at the application the blond had given him, "Uzumaki-Uchiha Naruto?" The blond only nodded in affirmation, "Uchiha? Are you by any chance related to Uchiha Sasuke?"

"By marriage..." Naruto offered the partial truth, not sure if Shikamaru could handle his sexual orientation.

"Wow, that's awesome," the brunette's grin broadened, and the blond shifted uncomfortably underneath his gaze, "I have all his books! So, he's like a cousin or a brother by marriage?"

"He's..." Naruto lowered his gaze to the table, blond bangs falling forward hiding his azure eyes, and finished with a hint of embarrassment coloring his cheeks, "...my husband"

"Your...husband?" Shikamaru's thin eyebrows rose high on his forehead in surprise, and Naruto immediately regretted telling him, "Hey, it's okay. I don't judge...I was just surprised. My girlfriend's brother, Gaara, is a bisexual and I don't have a problem with it, as long as he keeps his hands to himself. So...if he's your husband, why are you looking for a job here? I would think he'd have plenty of money to support the both of you."

"That's just it," Naruto grimaced bitterly, "He's stingy when it comes to money...I wouldn't be surprised if he had an uncle named Ebenezer Scrooge."

Shikamaru laughed at the blonds comment, "Figures. So, he's an ass when it comes to money, huh? He's not the only one; my dad's a tight wad himself. I actually had to get a government loan to open this place. Been running it for two years and still owe money."

Mediterranean eyes met chocolate brown, and Naruto suddenly felt a grateful smile tug on the right side of his mouth at the brunette's empathetic confession, "Thanks."

"No problem," Shikamaru grinned leaning lazily back in his chair, and glancing again at the blond's application, "According to this, you've never worked before. I take it you don't have any experience, which is fine. I'd train you myself, but it be a bit troublesome add that to the work I already have to do. We get a pretty heavy flow of customers, more during night shift than day, so I'll need you on nights with Gaara. He'll be the one training you...though I doubt it'd be a good idea," he added as an afterthought. He rose from his seat and motioned for the younger man to do the same, "Come on, I'll introduce you."

The blond apprehensively followed the brunette into the inner part of the coffee house. There behind the cash register was the most Gothic looking man that Naruto had ever seen. The man's blood red hair looked untidy and unkempt, his brows were shaved and the left brow had two evil looking spiked barbells pierced through it. Above the piercings was the kanji for love tattooed in red ink, and he wore a thick layer of kohl around his sea-green eyes giving him a fright inducing aura. His face wore an expression of bored indifference, yet told the blond that a person did not want to get on this guy's bad side. He wore a black Grateful Dead tee shirt and underneath a long sleeve fishnet shirt. The short nails on his fingers were painted a glossy black color, Naruto could see. The boy had his arms crossed along his lithe, apron clad chest, fingers tapping along his arm boredly. The legs of his black cargo pants hung low over his black leather combat boots. Naruto came to a conclusion, this guy was not one to trifle with. The red head glanced at the nervous blond and smirked, flicking his tongue out provocatively revealing a silver barbell pierced through his tongue with a black spiked tickler at the tip of it. Naruto shuddered at the red head's display.

"Gaara," Shikamaru grabbed the red head's attention, "This is Uzumaki-Uchiha Naruto. You'll be training him on night shift starting tomorrow night."

"Mmmm...fresh meat..." the smirk widened across the red head's face, and Naruto fought back the urge to run...very far away. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Ignore him," he placed a reassuring hand on the blond's shoulder, "He just does that to scare people off. He's really just a troublesome pain in the ass, if you ask me."

"And you would know?" The red head, Gaara, arched a non-existent brow, "I wouldn't fuck you even if you promised me a partnership to this dump." Gaara had a way of twisting words towards the perverse, the blond noted. Gaara's gaze then turned back to Naruto, "This guy, however, wouldn't have to promise me anything." Translation: I would love to fuck you.

"N-No, thanks," the blond stuttered nervously underneath the gothic red head's gaze, "I'm married."

"Your point?" the red head glared at Naruto with an expression of bored indifference that reminded him of Sasuke, "Just because you're married doesn't mean we can't fuck."

Naruto narrowed azure blue eyes, "I'm not interested."

Gaara merely snorted at the blonds retort, "Suit yourself. It's your loss."

"Gaara, leave him alone," Shikamaru finally interjected, muttering 'troublesome' under his breath. His brown eyes focused on the young blond next to him, "Can you come in at 3 pm tomorrow?"

"Of course, I'll be here," A large smile was plastered across Naruto's face. Finally he had accomplished something; there was no way Sasuke could complain.

* * *

"I'm home!" The ecstatic blond shouted from the front door, as he placed the car keys on the key holder next to the wooden coat rack. In his left arm, he held a box of a dozen glazed doughnuts that Shikamaru had given him. The young blond turned to see Sasuke sitting in the plush blue armchair facing him, his left leg crossed over his right. He looked too well groomed for a typical dinner with the family, as he sported a pair of black slacks, a long sleeve button up shirt, and a black tie; he looked as though he was ready to attend a funeral. He eyed the doughnuts in Naruto's arm and fixed him with a stony glare.

"Don't worry, Sasuke." the blond heaved an exasperated sigh, "They were free."

"Hn..." The infamous Uchiha grunt. The raven removed his left leg from its resting place and steepled his forefingers together against his lips, "Why are you so late?"

Naruto glanced at the grandfather clock next to the fireplace, reading the hands on its face stating that it was 5:18 pm. "I'm sorry...the interview took longer than I thought it would. But I got the job!" He gave Sasuke his trademark grin, a feeling of pride swelling within him.

"Hn..." Another Uchiha grunt, and Sasuke was on his feet walking towards Naruto. A feeling of dread began to rise within the blond as the raven neared him, the grin sliding from his lips. It was if time had went into fast forward, the feeling of Sasuke's pale hand gripping his blond locks tightly and yanking his head painfully backwards at breakneck speed. "Dobe!"

"Itai (5)!" Naruto felt the warm tears welling up in his sapphire eyes. He could hear his heart pounding loudly and quickening with fear as he saw the ferocious anger in his husband's eyes. "What's wrong, Sasuke? What did I do wrong?"

"Have you forgotten what tonight is?" the raven growled between clenched teeth, and the blond nodded. What was so special about that night? His husband only gripped his hair tighter, "Tonight, my publisher and his company partner are coming for dinner! Luckily for you, he called before you got home and said he would be an hour late. So you've got an extra hour to make up for your incompetence!" Sasuke roughly shoved his blond husband to the floor in front of the stairs that led to the upper level of the mansion. "Go get the kids ready, then start making dinner! And it better be done before they get here!"

Naruto nodded his acknowledgment to the raven, wiping the tears from his bronze cheeks and slowly ascended the stairway towards their children's rooms.

* * *

"Do you want your hair up, down, or in a braid?" Naruto inquired as he brushed his ten year old daughter's long straight raven hair.

She glanced up at him with her mix matched eyes, reminding him of his Tou-san, Kakashi. Though his Chichiue, Iruka, had no favorites among his children, Kakashi favored Joi out of the three, because her eyes favored his, though they weren't blood related. The blond just hoped that Joi didn't turn into a germ-a-phobic like her Sofu (6) and start wearing a hepamask around everyone like he did. The only time he ever took it off was when he and Iruka were alone and the whole house had been sanitized.

"What is it, Baby?" Naruto kissed the top of her raven head, well aware that he was no longer brushing it.

"Can I bleach my hair?" She asked her gaze now planted firmly on her lap.

"Why would you want to do a thing like that?" His brows knitted inward in concern, "Your hair is beautiful the way it is."

"Dad doesn't think so," Joi sighed depressingly, "He said that I look so much like Itachi-otooji (7) that it's sickening." Naruto thought his heart would break right then, seeing his oldest child, his baby, hurting inside.

"Your Dad is wrong," the blond wrapped his arms around his daughter's shoulders, and lovingly kissed her cheek, "Your Itachi-otooji is a very attractive man, and you are a beautiful young girl. Your Dad's just frustrated and taking out on everyone he loves. As soon as his manuscript is finished, he'll be back to his old self. You'll see."

"I hope so," Joi replied, but the tone of her voice told Naruto that she had serious doubts. Steering away from the touchy subject of Sasuke, she added, "I want a french braid!"

The blond let out a small laugh, "One french braid, coming right up!"

* * *

Naruto bustled about the kitchen, setting freshly cooked vegetables in serving dishes on the counter, his thick blond hair pulled back in orange barrettes to make it appear tame. He was wearing an orange colored summer sweater with a pair of black velvet slacks which gave him an air of femininity yet without taking too much away from his masculinity. He was removing the pork roast from its place in the oven, when Sasuke came strutting into the kitchen, his aura flared with both anxiety and anger.

"Aren't you finished yet?" He all but yelled at the blond, "They'll be here any minute!"

"I'm almost done, Sasuke," Naruto placed the roast on a few well placed oven mitts next to the vegetables in serving dishes, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"What the hell are those?" the raven motioned towards the barrettes in the younger man's hair.

"I wanted to look nice, and my hair wasn't all that cooperative when I tried to style it," Naruto explained, his azure eyes focused on the white tiled linoleum of the kitchen floor, never meeting Sasuke's onyx ones.

"They're ridiculous!" the raven scowled in disapproval, "Take them out! They make you look like a fag!"

Azure blue eyes rose from the floor to focus on onyx ones, then narrowed at the use of the word 'fag', "I am a 'fag', Sasuke. And the last time I checked, so were you!"

"Well, at least I don't make an obvious display of it!" the raven retorted as he snatched the orange barrettes painfully out of Naruto's hair, causing the blond to wince. He stuffed them in his blond husbands hand roughly, "And go put something else on. I didn't marry a cross dresser."

As the raven turned to leave, Naruto heaved a burdened sigh, azure eyes again fixed on the linoleum floor, "Sasuke...are you ashamed of me?"

The raven turned and gave the blond a calculating side glance before doing an about face and returned to his blond husband, his angry features now softened. He gently cupped the younger man's chin, lifting the blond's face to meet his gaze, "No, koi, I'm not ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of the stupid things that you do...but I still love you." With that said, Sasuke placed a chaste kiss on the corner of Naruto's mouth.

* * *

The three children were lined up in front of the doorway along with Naruto and Sasuke, prepared to greet their guests. Joi, a cookie cutter image of Itachi albeit her mix matched eyes, had her long raven hair pulled back into a french braid and wore a blue floral print cutout halter dress with matching light blue slide on dress shoes. Taizen, who had his spiky raven hair done similar to Sasuke's, wore a green short sleeve polo shirt tucked into his black slacks which had legs long enough to hide his new black and green sneakers he demanded to wear. Namida looked absolutely adorable, her long wavy blond hair pulled into two pony tails and tied with red ribbons and was wearing a red plaid patterned sundress with lacy white socks and red mary jane shoes.

"Now, I want all of you to be on your very best behavior," the raven said pointedly at the children as three pairs of eyes focused on him, "These men are very important to my work and everything needs to be perfect!" He gave a sideways glance to his blond husband, "I trust you can handle keeping them under control?" The blond nodded silently, and Sasuke seemed satisfied, "Good."

The raven moved towards the younger man, cupping his hand within both of his and raising it to his lips and placing a chaste kiss on Naruto's hand, as he took in his blond husband's new apparel, "Much better. You look perfect."

Naruto now wore a white polo with a dark brown blazer, light khaki slacks and dark brown loafers, but his frown only showed his displeasure with the attire. But instead of replying with a smart retort, he kept silent, intelligent enough to know it would possibly earn him a back handed slap in the face.

The door bell rang silently and the blond tensed, fidgeting with the sleeves of his blazer nervously. _Please, Kami, let this go well. _As Sasuke opened the front door, a pale thin man who looked to be in his forties entered, followed by a man with long shaggy white hair. Both men were dressed in suits, the pale man, who Naruto guessed was Orochimaru, had his long black hair pulled back in a ponytail low on his scalp, the other man, Jiraya, also had his white hair back in a ponytail albeit not as neat.

"I'm glad you made it, Orochimaru-san, as well as you, Jiraya-san," Sasuke smiled and politely shook hands with both men.

"We thank you for your invitation, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru graced the raven with an eloquent smile, and turned to face the blond, "I don't think we've been introduced. You must be Naruto. I must say that when he spoke of you, he never told me how lovely you are."

The blond's tan cheeks flushed at the comment, his azure eyes fixed to the floor in a slight submissive manner, "Thank you."

"Here. Let me introduce you to the rest of my family," Sasuke pulled the pale man's attention towards the children standing before him. He motioned first to the eldest, "This is my oldest daughter, Joi," The raven girl bowed her head respectfully, "This is my only son, Taizen," The young raven boy regarded Orochimaru with calculating azure eyes, a miniature image of his father, and gave him an "Hn..." in response, "And my youngest, Namida."

What happened next caused a chaotic chain of events. Namida, who looked like a chibi version of Naruto except for her onyx eyes, grabbed the hem of her sundress and lifted it into the air, displaying her 'Four Princesses' panties, "Hiiiiiii!"

A stunned silence was followed by a loud guffaw of laughter from Jiraya, a slack jawed Orochimaru who was too stunned to say or do anything, a gasping Naruto, and a blushing and embarrassed Uchiha.

Naruto immediately pounced on his youngest, pulling the hem of her sundress back down, and chuckling nervously, "Sweety, don't do that!"

The blond glanced up at his raven haired husband, biting his bottom lip with an expression of apology. Sasuke only glared at him through dark narrowed eyes; Naruto knew that he would pay for Namida's display later.

"Thanks a lot!" Jiraya managed between laughs, wiping mirthful tears from his eyes, "I needed a good laugh today. So, where's the food? I'm starving!"

* * *

Naruto set about spooning the food on his two youngest children's plates as Sasuke and Orochimaru chatted adamantly about the raven's new manuscript. Jiraya's face was flushed from the amount of sake he had consumed and was suspiciously eying the eldest daughter, much to Naruto's discomfort. He had heard the rumors about Orochimaru having a taste for young children from Sasuke, and he had expected that from him, but not from Jiraya. Soon the conversation was changed by Orochimaru to include the blond.

"It looks simply delicious, Naru-chan," the pale man commented causing Naruto to blush for a second time, "You didn't have to go through all this trouble just for us."

"It was no trouble, really," the blond flashed Orochimaru a bright smile, and sat down in his place at the dining room table.

"Sasuke-kun tells me that you have an Associate's Degree in Accounting. He also tells me you've been seeking employment," the pale man leaned in Naruto's direction, "We've been needing someone in our Accounting department with good bookkeeping skills, that is, if you're interested."

"Don't bother," Sasuke replied before the blond had a chance to speak, sipping the rest of his sake from his cup, "He barely passed those courses. He couldn't even balance a check book to save his life."

Naruto shot the raven a venom laced glare, that went ignored. He placed his napkin on the table in front of him, "Excuse me. I think I've lost my appetite." With that he rose from the table and walked into the kitchen as narrowed onyx eyes followed him.

Orochimaru's eyes followed the blond with concern. When he walked through their front door earlier, he could see the fake happiness that the Uchiha had tried to exude. The pale man was good at spotting liars and Sasuke was one of the worst. He was well aware that something about Sasuke and Naruto's relationship was not right, having been through an unhappy relationship himself prior to the one he was now in. He had used the same deception on friends, trying to make them believe that he and Anko were indeed a happily married couple. A lot of his friends weren't happy with his choice of a bride, she being half his age. They had warned him that she wasn't in it for love, only his money. They had been married for a full two years before he realized that it was true.

"Excuse me," He plastered one of his smooth grins across his face, distracting the Uchiha from his menacing contemplation of how he was going to handle the blond's abrupt change in attitude,"But could you tell me where the closest restroom is?"

"Oh, um..." the raven took a moment to collect his thoughts, his blond husband completely forgotten much to Orochimaru's relief, "Down the hall, across from the kitchen."

Of course, Orochimaru had no intention of using the washroom facilities. He only offered that excuse to check on the upset blond; he was, after all, a master at deception and, with that experience, it allowed him to easily detect a liar. And the Uchiha bought the petty ruse, hook, line, and sink 'er. He walked silently into the hallway, hearing distinct sobs coming from the direction of the kitchen. The pale man grimaced; the Uchiha could really be a tactless, insensitive bastard.

He pushed open the swinging door of the kitchen slightly and peered inside, his golden serpentine eyes focusing on the blond man sitting at the kitchen table. Sapphire eyes were red and puffy and tanned cheeks were flushed and wet with tears. Orochimaru's heart went out to the blond as he remembered the many tear filled nights he had when he was married. Anko would be going to 'attend an office party' so she said, and would refuse to let him go with her saying that she was too embarrassed to be seen with him.

The pale man entered the kitchen, Naruto being oblivious of his presence, and made his way over towards the kitchen sink. He grabbed the clean dish clothe next to the sink, turned on the faucet to dampen it, and wrung out the access water. He casually sat down in a chair next to the weeping blond, nudging him as he offered the damp clothe. Naruto accepted the kind offer with a murmured, "Thank you."

"Are you alright?" Orochimaru's delicate brows knitted inward in concern, the blond gave a sarcastic chuckle as he wiped his eyes with the damp clothe.

"I try to do everything to make him happy, but it's never enough...I'm never enough," Naruto hiccuped out between sniffles, and glanced up at the pale man in suspicion, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"I surmise that it's because I can empathize with you and your situation," Orochimaru began, and the blond's expression changed to that of surprise, "Don't look so surprised. Not everyone has been in a happy marriage."

"**You** were **married**?" The blond gave the pale man a calculating look, believing that his desire for the underage was probably the cause of his marriage's demise. Fortunately for Orochimaru, it was easy to tell what Naruto was thinking, the blond being extremely easy to read.

"Please, tell me you don't believe all those things that Sasuke-kun has been telling you about me," Orochimaru's face was marred with a painful grimace, "I know about all the rumors that has been flying around in my company about me and I assure you that not a single one is true."

Azure eyes blinked at the pale man beside him in momentary contemplation, "Honestly, I'm not sure not to think. I mean, I've only just met you, but until someone can clarify what the truth is, I can't help but feel a little wary of you."

"I understand," the middle aged man nodded, a hint of disappointment and hurt in his voice, "People don't seem to realize that when they repeat slander, it causes defamation of a person's character and can ruin a good persons reputation. A lot of my employees see the way I handle business and judge me based on my professional behavior."

"Hm, Sasuke says you can be quite a snake," Naruto gave Orochimaru an amused smirk, the first smile he made since they began talking in the kitchen, and the pale man softly chuckled, the hurt and disappointment momentarily forgotten.

"Yes, I admit I don't like taking no for and answer," Orochimaru began in earnest, "But only with business. My personal life is entirely separate. Furthermore, when managing a business like mine, there are times you have to be ruthless."

"You have to be ruthless in order to publish a book?" the blond arched a fair brow in disbelief.

"My, my, but you are naive!" The pale man couldn't help but laugh at the blond's comment, earning a pout in return from said blond. When he finished, Orochimaru began to explain, "When you start a business, you must be aware there is a lot of competition out there. You have to be prepared to 'play hard ball', as they say. If a publishing competitor is interested in the same author that my company is interested in, I have to be prepared to offer something better than the other company. Signing an author means making money, and loosing an author to another publishing company can cost money. Same thing goes when you have a signed author that is late with his manuscript. I usually give my signed authors a two month leeway after their time frame is up, because I understand that sometimes writer's block can be a nasty obstacle to overcome. But once the two month period draws to a close, I have to lean on the author, put pressure on him to come through with the manuscript. If he doesn't, then I have no choice but to drop him, because if the deadline isn't met, we could lose money. Understand?"

"I think so..." Naruto replied but his puzzled sapphire eyes told the middle age man that he just confused the blond further, eliciting a small laugh from him.

"Don't worry about it," Orochimaru reassured, "Just understand that I'm only ruthless when it comes to business. Personally, I'm quite the opposite."

"Oh, okay," the blond smiled brightly, the reason why he had come to the kitchen to cry completely forgotten. But as quickly as the smile had appeared, it faded, "Orochimaru-san...would you do me a favor, onegai?"

"Of course, anything," the pale man placed a concerned hand on the blond's shoulder, wondering if there was some problem that the Uchiha wouldn't allow discussed.

"Could you...not pressure Sasuke so much about his manuscript being late," Naruto's azure eyes were downcast, focusing on the kitchen table, "The stress is really starting to get to him...and it's affecting things here at home."

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru arched an elegant brow, "His last manuscript was turned in two weeks ago."

Azure eyes widened in disbelief, "But you were just talking about it at the dinner table."

"We were discussing his next manuscript. It isn't due for another eight months," Orochimaru replied, equally as stunned, "He didn't tell you?"

"No..." the blond felt a surge of anger and despair rising within him, the only hope he had of Sasuke getting back to his old self had died, "He didn't."

* * *

It was 9:30 pm, and the guests had left ten minutes prior and Sasuke had seen them to their vehicles. Naruto was scrapping the access food from the dishes into the trash can silently. On the inside, he was seething. He couldn't believe that the raven would lie to him, saying he was frustrated, that he was stressed out because Orochimaru was pressuring him to put out his manuscript was the reason for his asinine behavior. He felt so angry that he was having to put up with the put downs and the rough handling over nothing. He wanted to break something, but resisted the urge to break a few plates over Sasuke's head. He knew that an enormous fight was about to break out between him and the raven, and he was thankful that the children were already tucked into bed. He didn't want his babies to see their Mommy and Daddy going at it like they were in a bar room brawl.

The next thing Naruto knew, he was yanked from his place at the sink by the hair on his head and thrown like a rag doll across the room, falling into the kitchen chairs. Before he could comprehend what was happening, he felt a sharp blow to his face and he felt his nose crack. Blood began to pour out of it, the blond's heart pounded wildly and he tried to catch his breath, shock began to overpower him. Unbidden tears, slowly poured from his azure eyes as he glanced up at the blurry figure towering over him...Sasuke.

"What the fuck is your problem?" The raven growled through clenched teeth, "Do you do that shit just to piss me off?! I was fucking humiliated!" Another blow to the face, "And what was with the fucking silent treatment you were giving me through dinner?! Were you trying to make me look like an asshole in front of them?!" A kick to the side and cracking ribs.

Naruto spat blood that was welling up in his mouth on the kitchen floor. The anger he had felt before Sasuke had begun the beating made a comeback, "You're a liar.." He managed between gulps for air.

"What the fuck did you call me?" Sasuke glared at him incredulously, anger still pouring from his aura.

"You...heard me...Teme..."the blond growled out, the pain was searing through him like a white hot poker, "You...lied...to me..."

"What the fuck did I supposedly lie to you about?" The incredulous glare remained, yet the anger in the raven was starting to dissipate.

"Manuscript...turned in...two weeks...ago..." Naruto tried to sit up from his place on the floor but to no avail, the left side of his face caked in blood from his nose and mouth.

"What do you mean I turned the manuscript in two weeks ago?" The anger was gone, confusion replacing it.

"Orochimaru...told me," the blond managed to sit up, leaning his lithe, pain riddled body against the wall behind him.

"And you believed him?" Sasuke's jaw dropped a fraction, not believing that his own husband would believe someone he just met, anger, directed at the pale man, returned, "I can't believe that snake would stoop this low!" The raven knelt before the battered blond, "Don't you see what he's doing?! He's trying to turn you against me over a stupid fucking manuscript!"

"Not...just...that..." Naruto still gasping for air, clutching his wounded side, spoke glaring daggers out of narrowed azure, "You...say...you love...me...and...you do...this..."

Comprehension dawned as onyx eyes assessed the blond before him, "Oh god, baby, I'm sorry," the raven reached out and gently pulled the blond into a gentle embrace, "I'm so sorry."

To say that Naruto was shocked to hear "I'm sorry" coming from the lips of an Uchiha was an understatement. Uchihas never apologized. But the blond had heard them come from Sasuke's own mouth. This meant that the words were sincere, right?

* * *

Naruto winced as he tried to smooth tan foundation over the purple bruise on his right cheek and above the bridge of his nose. Sasuke sat on the edge of their bed watching him with nauseating guilt.

"You know you could call in and tell them you can't come in today," Sasuke suggested, his brows knitted inward as he watched the blond wince every time he touched his face with the make-up application pad.

"I can't call in on my first day, Sasuke," Naruto sighed as he put the finishing touches of foundation on his face, laying the application pad down and picking up shade of pink colored lip balm.

"Then forget the job, koi," the raven rose from his place and moved towards the blond, placing a loving kiss on the top of blond locks.

"No, Sasuke," Naruto lay the lip balm next to the application pad and grabbed his hair brush in order to attempt to style his hair, "You wanted me to get a job, so I got a job. I'm not gonna leave Nara-san hanging just because of a few bruises."

"You've got cracked ribs, koi, the doctor told you last night to take it easy," Sasuke placed a small kiss on Naruto's unbruised cheek and wrapped his arms around the blond's shoulders.

The younger man gave the raven a sideways glance, "And who's fault is it that my ribs were cracked in the first place?"

"Koi, I said I was sorry," Sasuke tilted his neck so his forehead was resting on the blond's shoulder, "How many times do I have to say it, until you believe it?"

Naruto heaved an exasperated sigh, "I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

* * *

"Damn, blondie!" the red head, Gaara,who was currently wearing a black "Psycho in Training" tee shirt with the same black cargo pants and black leather boots as the day before, raised a pair of non-existent brows as the blond entered the coffee establishment to work. Naruto was wearing a white tee shirt with an orange Uzumaki swirl on the front, faded denim jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. He had a plastic splint taped to the bridge of his nose, the only evidence that his nose had been broken, "You looked like hammered shit! You get into some kinda bar fight last night?"

"I don't want to talk about it," the blond growled out, taking Gaara aback.

"Whatever," The red head shrugged, and tossed Naruto a green apron, "Might as well tell you now. I'll show you how to do something once. But after that, you're on your own."

The blond rolled his azure eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

"First off, the delivery truck just got here an hour ago, I need you to stack the boxes in the cooler," the red head ordered, an air of boredom in his voice, "Shouldn't be too hard, even though it's your first day."

"What are you going to be doing?" Narrowed azure eyes focused on the goth.

"I have to stay up front and take care of customers," Gaara picked a invisible piece of lint off his shirt and flicked it away, "Don't just stand there, get going!"

The blond gave the red head a malicious glare, before heading to the back of the shop. So much for taking it easy.

The red head smirked in spite of himself, _Zippa-dee-doo-da, Zippa-dee-ay, My, oh, my, got a wonderful slave! _As long as he was training Naruto, he could make the blond do all the work and he could stand around and do nothing. Not that he did anything anyway, but at least Shikamaru would quit bitching at him for a while. After a few minutes of picking the flaking black polish off his nails, he heard a loud outcry from the back of the shop. Gaara rolled his aqua-green eyes, _Baka. Probably had a stack of boxes fall on top of him. Guess I better check on him. _

Gaara left his place at the register and slowly made his way to the back where Naruto was. Aqua-green eyes widened at the scene before him. Boxes were strewn across the floor as they had been dropped, and the blond was on his knees clutching his right side, his face contorted with pain. The red head rushed towards him, _Fuck! I shouldn't have left him alone._

"What the hell happened?!" Gaara questioned, his usually bored tone was now laced with panic, "Are you alright?"

"Hurts..." was all the blond managed, tears were starting to flow down his tan cheeks running the make up off and Gaara could see the hint of a bruise on the blonds right cheek. He lifted Naruto's shirt to reveal a large purple bruise around his ribs.

"Fuck! What the hell...?" the red head examined the bruise, gently pressing it, eliciting a hiss from the blond.

"C-Car accident...last night," The blond lied through gritted teeth.

"You were in a car accident?" Gaara gave Naruto a incredulous look, "And you came in, to work?" The blond only nodded, "You been to see a doctor?" Another nod, "And he said?"

"Broken nose...cracked ribs...told me...take it...easy..." The blond grunted, the red head was stunned.

"You came to work with cracked ribs?!" Gaara almost yelled, guilt, for pushing the blond do something alone when the red head should have helped, set in, "You should have told me, I would have called Shika and had you sent home...Fuck!" _This is all my fault, I shouldn't have left him alone._

"I think...I'll be...alright..." the blond groaned as he slowly got to his feet, still clutching his side.

"Why don't you go sit down, and take it easy," the red head suggested as he helped Naruto to the office and sat him at the office desk, "I'll take care of putting the boxes away."

As he walked away, Gaara spared the blond one last glance. He didn't believe for a minute that the blond was in car accident. His brother, Kankuro, was on the Konoha Police Force; he would have heard it on the scanner his brother had set up in the kitchen. He couldn't quite finger it, but the situation was somewhat familiar.

* * *

Uruwashii-Beautiful

Aishiteru-I love you

Onegai-Please

Pope Alexander VI was the pope who gave Spain permission to do an Inquisition in the late 15th century

Itai-Ouch

Sofu-Grandfather

Otooji-Uncle

* * *

A/N: And another chapter...a very long chapter. My chapters tend to run anywhere from 10-20 pages. I want to thank all of you that reviewed. Does an impression of Sally Fields getting her Oscar You like me! You really like me!! I also wanna thank my beta, Kurai Kisu! Without her, this chapter would look like total crap! As I found out this morning, trying to upload a html on my own and the results were disastrous ; So thanks, Kurai!! Girl, you rock!! And read her fic Too Many Drinks; I promise you'll be laughing your ass off!!

By the way, who do you think is the liar? Orochimaru or Sasuke? A chapter dedication to the one who can guess correctly! So, until next time...Ja ne!


	3. Secrets and Lies

**Family Portrait**

by Kami

**Disclamer:** I don't own the characters of Naruto nor the song Lies, I do own the characters Joi, Taizen, and Namida and also the premise for this story.

**Summary: **In a family portrait, looks can be deceiving.

**Warnings:** Contains yaoi, mpreg, and domestic violence. Not your thing? Then don't Read! **By the way, Sasuke is a little bit of a bastard in this story...I never really liked him anyways. So if you don't like stories where Sasuke is a bastard to Naruto, this story is not for you. **There will be some more limes in this...you have been warned. I'm such a tease! But I promise a lemon...of sorts...in the next chapter.

A/N: Okay, Okay! I know I'm really late posting this chapter but I have a good excuse, really.

Well...first...I was kidnapped...yeah...um...by...Orochimaru! And...he was trying to like brainwash me into writing a story where he was the main character...it was...a part of his evil plan to get more followers...er...fans. And I was all like "Oro-chan, I'm making you into a halfway decent guy in this story, what more can you want?" and he was like "Not good enough!" so after almost a month of being held prisonor, my good friend and beta, Kurai Kisu, came to my rescue and kicked his ass, but good. She's still trying to help me get rid of Oro's brainwashing, and it's going slowly but surely.

Also, I have to tell you readers, things are not always what they seem in my stories. When you read this story, you have to think outside the box and examine every word that is written. I may write something with a singular thought in mind and, in your mind, you judge what you think it is, and it turns out to be something completely the opposite of what you were thinking. I'll quote King Bumi from Avatar the Last Airbender in saying "You need to open your mind to the possibilities!" I'm so mean...but it keeps the story interesting and entertaining. Plus it kinda goes with the summary, don't you think? Looks can be deceiving. I have this whole story planned out, and though I've made some minor changes in the draft, the story will remain untouched.

Feedback is welcome, Go ahead and flame if you will, I've been wanting to have a wienie roast!!

**Added Note: Domestic Violence is very real. If you know someone or see someone that is being abused, don't ignore it because you think it's none of your business or because you think that person brought it on his or herself. Tell Somebody! It's not right for someone to have to suffer because their lover or spouse can't control their temper. By calling the authorities, you can save the life of that person, and the lives of that person's children, if they have any**.

Flash backs in bold italics

Thoughts in italics

* * *

Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear  
Sealed with lies through so many tears  
Lost from within and persuing the end  
I fight for the chance to be lied to again 

You will never be strong enough  
You will never be good enough  
You were never conceived in love  
You will not rise above

They'll never see  
I'll never be  
I struggle on and on to feed this hunger  
Burning deep inside of me

Evanesence

* * *

**Chapter 3-Secrets and Lies**

It was already mid-June, almost a month after Naruto's first visit to the ER, and in his opinion, things between he and Sasuke had not improved. In fact, he felt things had worsened as he noticed that, lately, the raven had become demanding and offensive towards their children, Joi and Taizen in particular. In Taizen, Sasuke saw himself before he was tied down with a family and pressured him mercilessly to excel in his studies. Joi, however, was quite the opposite. Naruto didn't understand why the raven displayed such resentment towards her, belittling her in everything she attempted, even when she did well. Of course, he still took his so called 'frustrations' out on the blond, earning the younger man two more trips to the ER, once with a cracked jaw and a concussion, the other time with a broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder. He had a difficult time trying to keep things from looking suspicious at work, as Gaara kept asking him personal questions about his frequent injuries. He was grateful that the last time Sasuke blew up, which was only two days prior, that he didn't break any bones. Just a bunch of bruises on his torso, nothing he couldn't handle...no big deal, right?

Gaara had changed in the past few weeks, he was a little more social with the blond, friendlier. Naruto knew that the red head was just still trying to get into his pants. The blond had hoped after telling him his embarrassing secret a few weeks ago, which only his Chichiue, Tou-san, Sasuke, and a few trusted friends and family knew about, the red head would be so disgusted with him, he would lay off. But as it seemed, it only fueled the goth's interest. Naruto leaned against the counter next to the register, thumping his forehead against the flat surface, regretting opening his big mouth.

Flashback

_**Things had slowed down at the Shougi House, it being close to closing. The blond was humming to himself as he finished wiping down down the glass display case, and walked behind the counter to the back to where Gaara was scooping unbaked cookies onto a large baking pan prepared to be baked the next day. Naruto was glad that the red head decided to be a little more helpful after their first day working together, it almost seemed like Gaara was doing it out of guilt. He placed the glass cleaner back in it's place next to the sink, and knelt down searching for the all-purpose cleaner to wipe down the tables outside. His back stiffened when he heard a soft groan from behind him. The blond slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, afraid of what he might see. There, standing with a ball of cookie dough in one gloved hand and a scoop in the other, was Gaara, a lust filled glaze over his sea-green eyes.**_

_**"Fuck...why do you have to be such a fucking tease?" the red head growled lecherously, and Naruto, with a rose tint flushing his bronze cheeks, realized that he had been staring at the blond's jean clad backside, "When are you gonna let me fuck that sweet ass of yours?"**_

_**The blond narrowed azure eyes, "When Hell freezes over," was the smart retort. Naruto rose from his position handling the spay bottle of all-purpose cleaner as if it were mace, "Why can't you find someone else to pester for sex? Maybe a nice 'girl'?" It was strange trying to encourage someone not to be gay when he was gay himself.**_

_**"Had pussy last week, wasn't worth it. I prefer a tight ass," Gaara turned back to what he was doing as he spoke, "and I want yours. Just seeing it when you walk gets me hard."**_

_**"Well, then don't look at it!" Naruto retorted as he marched out of the back of the shop back towards the front.**_

_**"It's kinda hard not to when it's right there sticking out in my face!" he heard the red head yelled as the blond made his way to the bistro tables out side to clean them. He rolled his sapphire eyes at Gaara's reply, and continued with his work. After ten minutes, he had finished the last table and had done an about face to return to the back, when a startled yelp escaped his lips. There leaning against the door frame was Gaara with a pleased smirk on his face. Was he looking at his ass, again???**_

_**"Has anyone ever told you that you look sexy when you pout?" the tip of the red heads tongue slid across his lips, as the blond opened and closed his mouth in a fish-like motion.**_

_**"Gaara! You asshole!" Naruto almost screamed at the top of his lungs, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"**_

_**"Sorry, not into necro," Once more twisting words to the perverse, "You can't say you don't enjoy the attention, Blondie. Whenever you know I'm watching at you, you're hips sway a little more than normal when you walk. I think you like it when I'm staring at your ass."**_

_**"Get over yourself," Naruto flung the rag he was using to wipe the tables over his shoulder, he was beginning to get sick and tired of the red head's antics, "Read My Lips: I'm-Not-Interested! I'm happily married and plan to stay that way!" Happily married?? What a crock of shit!**_

_**"Hey, your wife doesn't have to know about it, you know?" Gaara was mere inches away from him, and the blond could feel the goth's breath ghosting on his ear, "Who knows? You might actually enjoy it," a tongue darted out of the red head's mouth licking the shell of Naruto's ear.**_

_**"Get off me, you hentai!" the blond shoved the younger man away, trying to hide the semi-hard bulge protruding through his jeans, "And I have a 'husband', not a 'wife'!" As those words slipped from the blond's lips, his azure eyes widened in realization, and a tan hand clasped over his mouth. Gaara had no idea he was gay, and to top that off, there would be a lot of questions that the red head would want answered. "Damnit," Naruto hissed under his breath.**_

_**"You're married to a 'man'?" the red head raised his pierced shaved brow, "I thought gay marriage was illegal in Konoha."**_

_**"Well," the blond began, as he nervously wrung his hands; how the hell was he gonna get out of this, then it hit him. A mischievous vulpine grin graced Naruto's lips, "Not if you're legally female."**_

_**"WHAT THE FUCK?!" the red heads eyes went unbelievably wide and his jaw hung open. Good, perfect reaction, "You mean to tell me you're a transsexual?"**_

_**"No, baka," Naruto's azure orbs spared him another roll, "Technically, I'm neither man nor woman; I'm an intersexual, a hermaphrodite. My father was overseas in the army, and my mother listed me as a female until he came back and they decided what gender they wanted me to be. So legally, I'm a female. I can even get pregnant like a female. In fact, I have three kids. But psychologically, I am a male," the blond sniffed, then walk past a stunned goth to return to the back of the shop, then added with a smirk, "a 100 flaming gay male."**_

_**"Pfft! You're so full of shit!" Gaara shook his head in disbelief, following the blond to the back.**_

_**"Don't believe me?" the blond turned around, facing the red head who was shaking his head to the negative. Naruto lifted his shirt above his navel and lowered his jeans slightly to show a huge scar beneath his abdomen and right above blond pubic hair, "That was from a cesarean, my youngest was turned the wrong way and I couldn't birth her naturally."**_

_**"That doesn't mean shit," Gaara scoffed still unconvinced, "You could have gotten that scar from any kind of abdominal surgery. But I wouldn't mind seeing more skin though," he added trying to see down the blond's jeans.**_

_**"Gaara," Naruto stared the red head straight into his aqua-green eyes, as he replaced his tee shirt down over his stomach, "As long as you've known me, do you honestly think I would lie about something as outrageous as this?"**_

_**The red head narrowed his eyes at the blond as if trying to find microscopic evidence that the older man was lying, and his eyes widened with realization, "You're fucking serious!"**_

_**"Finally!" Naruto heaved an exasperated sigh, and turned back around retracing his path towards his destination, quite pleased with himself. Maybe the red head would get off his back.**_

_**"Well, I'll be damned! I knew there was something different about you. You're like a dream come true!" the blond froze mid step, that was not the response he was expecting. He was expecting the red head to call him a freak. Naruto turned to see a smirking red headed goth eying him from head to toe, "A hot sex god and a baby factory all rolled into one. Where the hell have you been all my life?"**_

_**"Damnit," the blond's head dropped in disappointment; he had just made things worse. But what he hadn't counted on, was Sasuke arriving to pick him up from work early. The raven had seen the blond expose his abdomen to the red head, earning Naruto a third trip to the ER, because the raven had caught him "cheating". It had taken some major convincing on Naruto's part for Sasuke to allow him to continue working at the Shougi House.**_

End Flashback

Yes, Naruto totally regretted opening his big mouth. Not because Gaara was finding excuses to 'accidentally' molest him during work, but because Sasuke called every 10 minutes wanting to know what the blond was doing, who was there with him, and to let the blond know he was being watched. It was a complete nightmare, and the constant flow of phone calls from the possessive Uchiha was driving Shikamaru up the wall.

As Shikamaru walked through the shop's entrance carrying a bundle under his arm, he studied the blond, who currently was banging his forehead against the counter, as well as the right upper arm that was in a cast. The brunette knew something was definitely not right and he had his suspicions of what was going on between the blond and his husband, but nothing to confirm it. The possessiveness that Sasuke exuded with the constant phone calls, the multiple injuries that Naruto came to work with, the blond's insistence that he was just that naturally clumsy; they were all red flags. The only problem was when his suspicions were indeed confirmed, how would he go about confronting the blond about it? It was much too troublesome to come up with a way to confront Naruto without making him feel cornered or uncomfortable. He'd get Gaara to do it; problem solved.

The brunette approached the counter, that Naruto was currently banging his head on, "Are you trying to give yourself a headache or are you trying for brain damage? 'Cause if it's brain damage you want, you could always go piss Gaara off."

"Hey, Shika," the blond lifted his head from the counter and gave the brunette a wry smile.

"Hey, baka, day shift is over. Go home already," Gaara appeared from the back, wearing a dark red shirt that said "I Have One Nerve Left And Your Getting On It". He slowly glided towards Naruto, eying the blonds rear, that was sticking out as the blond leaned over the counter, just begging to be dry humped. The red head bit his lip to hold back a moan of pleasure when he rocked his hips against Naruto's backside, grinding his hard, clothed protrusion against the blue-eyed man's jean clad rump and eliciting a displeased whimper from the blond, "Sorry, Blondie...I guess I kinda tripped into you."

"I really would appreciate it if you would stop doing that," the blond grunted, laying his forehead back on the counter, flustered because of the semi hard on the red head's molestation elicited, "I'm in enough trouble with Sasuke as it is."

"Don't you ever get tired of being that asshole's bitch?" Gaara leaned up against the counter, propping his head on his fist while using the fingers of his free hand to tickle the side of Naruto's tan cheek, "Dump his ass and be my bitch. Hell, I might even let you be seme once in a while...maybe."

The elder man swatted the red heads hand away in irritation, ignoring the red head's blunt advances, and lifted his head from the counter, sapphire orbs focusing on the brunette, "Oi, Shika! What's in the package?"

"I'm glad you asked, Naruto," Shikamaru gave him a grin that said 'about time someone noticed'. The blond merely rolled his eyes, _He was just waiting for someone to say something, wasn't he? The lazy bastard. _"I had these ordered two months ago and the troublesome company just sent them. I thought it would make us look more professional."

The brown-eyed manager untied the parcel and inside was a large set of tee shirts with the Shougi House logo, a cup of steaming coffee. Both the blond and the red head gaped at the ugly green shirts in disgust.

"No. Fucking. Way." Gaara's nose wrinkled as if he had smelt something revolting, "There's no way I'm wearing that shit!"

"You have to. It's the uniform," Shikamaru deadpanned, a frown marring his handsome features.

"I don't have to do shit," Gaara spoke in that deep, smooth, monotone, showing his disinterest, "So, what you gonna do about it? Fire me? Go ahead."

Naruto rolled his eyes and lay his forehead again against the counter, _Not this again... _He pushed himself up off the counter and heaved a sigh of exasperation. It was a weekly ritual: Gaara and Shikamaru would have a disagreement in which Gaara would challenge Shikamaru to terminate him and Shikamaru would back down, because he 'promised his girlfriend' to keep Gaara off the streets. But this time seemed to be different; this time, the brunette stubbornly refused to be bated.

"You know I can't do that. But you will wear this shirt," Shikamaru crossed his arms across his chest, "Or do I have to tell your brother, Kankuro, about that incident that happened with you three months ago?"

The red head froze, aqua-green eyes widened. Naruto examined the expression on his co-worker's face. Gaara looked almost...scared. He wondered what the red head had done back then that was so bad that he didn't want his brother to know about it. Then he remembered the red head had said he used to deal. Did he go back to dealing drugs again? Did he start dealing at the Shougi House??

"Shika, that's playing dirty," The blond commented, earning the attention of both the brunette and the red head, as if they had only realized that he was still there, "You shouldn't black mail someone into doing something you want them to do. It's wrong. And it was three months ago. He hasn't dealt drugs since, has he?"

"What...?" Gaara and Shikamaru questioned in unison, incredulous looks directed towards the blond and he cowered beneath their glares slightly.

"Sorry, I'll just..." Naruto slowly started backing away from the pair, "I'll just go to the back."

"Wait a minute," the red head gripped the older man's arm to prevent him from leaving the area, "You thought I dealt drugs all this time?"

"Well...yeah," the blond blushed and timidly averted his azure blue eyes, "You said that you made more money 'dealing' in a day than you make here in a week, so I assumed..."

"You assumed I was a drug dealer," Non-existent brows rose upwards in amusement at the blond's naivety, "When you assume something, it makes an ass out of you. I was a Blackjack dealer at a casino called Sand Castle in Suna. I've never dealt drugs."

"No, you just use them," the brunette again deadpanned, and a hurt expression crossed the red head's face briefly before converting back to his mask of indifference.

"I've been clean for three months," Gaara almost growled not taking his eyes from Naruto, who was in a stunned, mute state at Shikamaru's declaration.

"But for how long, Gaara?" the brunette raised his thin eyebrows in query, "You know what Kankuro said. If he finds out you've been using again one more time, it's off to Yuki Rehab Center, even if he has to take you kicking and screaming. And you know how upset Temari will be if she finds out that you used heroin here at work."

After everything said from the pair had all sunk in, Naruto came out of his stupor. He remembered his adopted brother, Sai, and how bad off he had been hooked on cocaine. He had finally agreed to go to rehab after a near death experience from an overdose of the drug. Sai had confided in the blond that he had been using it because he wanted to "feel something". He had gotten no support from their Chichiue or Tou-san, but Naruto continued to encourage and support him on his difficult road of recovery.

He glanced with a swell of anger over at the brunette, who glared defiantly at Gaara, "Oi, Shika, lay off!" Shikamaru's chocolate brown orbs widened in surprise as if he hadn't expected the blond to speak up. "You should be encouraging him, not browbeating him! Recovery from drugs is difficult and the last thing he needs is someone antagonizing him!" The blond then snatched one of the uniform shirts off the counter and headed towards the back with two sets of eyes following him, chocolate staring in surprise at his outburst, and sea-green in shock of being defended for once, "I'll be in the bathroom changing into my shitty uniform shirt!"

Once in the bathroom, Naruto had much difficulty shedding his blue tee shirt, but finally managed to get it off. He paused a moment to examine the many large bruises along his torso. He looked like a leper, there were so many. The blond was moving to grab the ugly green uniform shirt when the bathroom door burst open.

"Hey, Blondie! Since you're gonna wear the shirt, I might as..." Gaara immediately silenced, a shocked glare at the blond before him, "Holy...Shit! Shika! Come look at this!"

"What the hell is it now? So damn troublesome," Shikamaru half mumbled as he appeared behind the redhead. When brown eyes focused on the blond before Gaara, he stumbled backwards, "...the hell?"

Naruto suddenly realized that they were glaring not at him, but his bruises. A feeling of terror shot through him, "Wait, I can explain."

"Explain what?" Sea-green eyes were ablaze with choler, and the blond found himself cowering uncontrollably at the furious gaze, "Who did this? Did that bastard of a husband do this to you? I'll fucking kill him!"

"NO!" a voice that sounded too weak to be his own emitted from the blond's lips in a frightened yell. Naruto suddenly realized the strangeness, the change from being a confident man to a timid and unsure, little weakling. What had happened to him? He hadn't ever been this fragile before. Where had his fight gone? The azure eyed man composed himself, willing back the tears that threatened to fall as he pulled the uniform shirt over his head, covering the bruises, "It's my problem. I can handle it."

"You can handle it?" the red head questioned unconvinced, arching his pierced brow as he continued, his words dripping with sarcasm, "Yeah, looks like you've handled it well so far."

Narrowed sapphire eyes pierced through Gaara with fury, "Why don't you mind your own fucking business!" and the red head and brunette were shoved roughly to the side as the furious blond pushed past them, exiting the bathroom.

* * *

It was near closing, Gaara was placing trays of unbaked cookies on the metal baking wrack, every so often casting worried glances at Naruto. The blond in question was standing at the sink scrubbing the display pans that previously exhibited the coffee shop's pastries. The azure eyed angel, as Gaara often thought of him, had not spoken a single word to the goth since the occurrence in the bathroom a few hours prior. The red head didn't understand why he felt so strongly about the blond, almost protective. He had never felt like this in his previous liaisons. He never cared about anyone or anything, just like he felt that no one cared for him. He didn't think Kankuro cared, he was just keeping his little brother out of trouble so he wouldn't look bad to the other officers on the force. Temari only played at being the caring sister because she was still afraid of the red head. He did, after all, almost kill her last boyfriend. No one cared for him like he cared for no one. So, why did he care now, about this one person he barely knew, this one person who had stood up for him earlier when no one ever had. It made him feel wanted for the first time in his life and the feeling of being wanted was addictive. He wanted more; he wanted Naruto. He wanted to keep him all to himself and not let anyone else touch him. It was a first for him; his relationships never lasted more than a few days. But he wanted this to last, this strange connection he had with the blond that he never realized was there...until that moment. 

A sigh broke the silence, pulling Gaara from his profound thoughts, and aqua-green orbs focused on the azure blue before him, "Gaara, can I ask you something, if you don't mind?"

"That all depends," the red head crossed his arms, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, but still managing to keep his mask in place, "Quid pro Quo. You ask a question, I answer it, and you have to answer one of mine, okay?"

"Fair enough," the blond nodded, then averted his eyes to stare at the concrete flooring of the kitchen, "When...did you start using?"

"When I was 13," Gaara deadpanned, "My turn. When did he start beating you?"

Naruto began chewing on his lip, not sure if he should answer. If he did and Sasuke found out he had said something to someone about what went on in their home, the blond would surely regret it. But he had agreed to answer any question that Gaara had, and the blond never went back on his word, "A couple of months ago...first time, was over money...it just got worse," Naruto's brows furrowed at horrible memories, then his head jerked upwards, azure meeting sea-green, "But he's just been frustrated and overstressed lately. He'll calm down over time."

"Stop giving him excuses!" The red head growled, and the blond flinched at his tone, "There is no excuse for what he did, what he's doing! Your his husband and he's supposed to be caring for you, not beating you to a bloody pulp!"

The blond lowered his head ashamedly, Gaara was right. Sasuke had no right to hit him, and yet Naruto continued to allow him to do it repeatedly, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" a pale hand caressed the side of the blond's face, and his azure orbs widened in surprise, as a pale face leaned close to his, kohl lined aqua-green eyes peering into his own, "You have nothing to apologize for."

Lips brushed against the older man's own as the goth's mouth enveloped his pink plump lips. A tickle was felt on his bottom lip as the tip Gaara's tongue danced across it, asking for entrance. Naruto opened his mouth to protest the sudden kiss, but it gave the red head an opportunity to thrust the pliable muscle into his mouth. The blond's azure eyes fluttered closed, his tanned cheeks flushing a rosy color, and his knees began to tremble beneath him as the younger man explored every crevice of his mouth. He could practically taste the cinnamon and peppermint on the breath of the sea-green eyed man. Naruto felt his back pressed against the Sheetrock wall of the back kitchen, as the goth eased his knee between the sapphire eyed man's legs and gently pressed against the blond's semi swollen member through the denim fabric.

Naruto gasped at the gentle caress of Gaara's knee, tan hands resting on the pale goth's chest, momentarily lost in a state of mindless bliss. In his mind, the blond knew that this was wrong, that he shouldn't be kissing someone that was not Sasuke, but his heart, as he felt it pound painfully as if it were trying to break through his chest, told him that it was right, that he deserved this moment of pleasure. A internal battle began between the two, the mind winning out. He pulled from the kiss and forcefully pushed the younger man away.

"I can't..." Naruto panted, his tan face still flushed with rose, "I can't do this!"

"Why not?" Gaara moved back towards the blond, resting his pale forehead against a tan one, "Don't you ever wonder what it's like to be with someone who doesn't hurt you all the time?"

"This isn't right," Sapphire eyes squeezed closed, forbidding the tears that threatened to fall, "I love Sasuke...and he loves me."

Aqua-green eyes narrowed as the red headed goth pulled away, pulling off his apron and roughly tossing it into the laundry bin, "Let me tell you a little story," he began not turning to show the hurt in his face as he was having difficulty in keeping his mask up, "My sister, Temari, has an ex-boyfriend that used to beat the hell out of her. She said that was the only thing that let her know he loved her. Me and Kankuro kept telling her she needed to get out of that relationship, but she wouldn't listen. Said she loved him and he loved her. Well, after a few months into the relationship, she had to spend two weeks in the ICU because he almost 'loved' her to death."

Naruto chewed his bottom lip; he shouldn't have felt guilty for pushing away, and yet it was there. Gaara's kiss, his caress, his touch felt more than just lust or desire. It had underlying emotion, as if it were pouring out of every pore of the pale man's skin. And the blond would be lying if he had said that it hadn't felt good. Actually, good was an understatement; the goth's touch was phenomenal! He hadn't been touched like that in...hell, years. Lately, all Sasuke did was grope when he wanted sex and the sex was pure lust on the raven's end. Naruto didn't feel the love in their 'love making' anymore. When did that happen?

"So, you have kids, right?" Gaara's smooth deep voice pulled the azure eyed man out of his musings, his eyes focusing on Gaara as the goth gave him a sideways glance, and the blond nodded, "Have you even considered that he might end up hurting one of them?"

A red tint flared on the tan face as the older man glared at the goth incredulously, "Sasuke would never EVER hurt one of our children! You don't even know him and you're making a judgment based on a few bruises?! I said it before and I'll say it again! Mind your own fucking business!" With that said, Naruto, in a furious movement, roughly pulled off his apron and tossed it harshly in Gaara's direction, wide aqua-green eyes following the older man as he exited the kitchen.

Entering the manger's office, Naruto lifted the receiver of the office phone, placing it against his tan ear and began dialing his home number. After about a minute or two, there was an answer.

"Moshi Moshi!" a small little voice said on the other end and Naruto nearly fell to the floor. _I thought Sasuke was watching the kids...He knows Namida isn't allowed to play with the phone._

"Namida, baby, put Daddy on the phone," his voice came softly, though slightly annoyed.

"Yosh!" Namida exclaimed with a giggle, and the next thing that Naruto knew he was listening to a dial tone. The blond heaved an aggravated sigh and began dialing the number again. This time it was the raven that answered.

"Naruto?" came the curt, unfeeling voice on the other end of the receiver.

"I'm ready to go," he replied to the Uchiha, biting back a nag about Namida being on the phone before. He really didn't want to put his dark-haired husband in a bad mood tonight.

"Hn." was Sasuke's response before again hearing a dial tone.

Naruto replaced the receiver, grabbed his punch card, clocked out, and exited the office, maneuvering around the cashier's counter and towards the outside. He sat down at one of the bistro tables, staring out at the parking lot waiting for his husband to arrive. As he sat there, he mused over the kiss that he and the red headed goth shared, a pang of guilt causing his chest to tighten. He had enjoyed it, wanted it. This was the first time he had ever been truly unfaithful to Sasuke. As much as he loathed to admit it, he had been. But he came to the decision quickly that it would be the last time. He loved the teme, they were just going through a rough patch at the moment. Every couple went through times like this, didn't they?

"Hey," Gaara's smooth monotoned voice startled the blond out of his musings, "I didn't mean to be harsh, but I was just telling it like it is. One of these days, you're gonna end up in a fight and one of the kids will get hurt. If you don't get away from him for yourself, at least do it for the sake of your kids."

The older man gave the goth a sideways glance, before turning his focus on the parking lot again with a soft, "Hmpf!"

The young goth heaved a dejected sigh as he fished out a pack of Marlboro Red's, slipping the filter of a cigarette slightly past his lips and lighting it. He inhaled deeply, breathing out white wisps of smoke through his nose before inhaling again. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt such a lovable person like Naruto. He was friendly, understanding, and warm...most of the time. Just bring up the subject about the abuse the blond was going though was enough to set the older man off. Why couldn't he see that this relationship was destructive and could possibly kill him? Naruto was actually lying to himself by saying things would get better. Gaara shook his head with a sigh, _I guess love is blind, as they say. That's why I never want to fall in love._

The younger man stared intently at the blond as he puffed away on the half smoked cigarette. Another sideways glance, "Those are gonna kill you, you know?"

"Hn. Don't be offended that I quote you in saying 'Mind your own fucking business'," was the curt, emotionless reply. That got the older man's full attention, azure orbs wide as saucers and pink plump lips agape with incredulous shock. His jaw moved up and down in a fish like motion as if he were trying to form words to retort but could not. The goth only smirked, taking a last draw off of the cigarette and flicking it towards the pavement. Naruto growled.

"Asshole!" the young blond turned away, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning in the bistro chair with the most adorable pout Gaara had ever seen gracing the older man's face. It took all of his will power for him not to drag the blond angel to the alley near the coffee house and ravish the hell out of him. He was still sporting the boner the blond had given him earlier when they had kissed. He ran long pale fingers through unruly red hair, glancing up only to narrow his eyes as blinding headlights entered the parking lot. He gazed at the make of the vehicle. It was a Midnight Blue Metallic Porsche 911 Turbo that parked in front of the Shougi House and the goth gaped as the blond rose from the bistro chair and made his way towards the expensive sports car. _Naruto's husband owns a Porsche? What the hell? If they have that kind of money, why the hell is Naruto working 'here'?_

Naruto opened the passenger side door of the midnight blue Porsche, but spoke before getting in, a wide grin gracing his handsome bronze face, "Hey, Sasuke-koi. How was you're day? Did the kids behave?"

"Hn." Azure eyes noticed the grip of pale hands tightening around the steering wheel and Naruto bit his bottom lip; his raven husband was in one of his moods and the blond knew he needed to tread lightly for the rest of the night if he wanted to avoid the Uchiha's wrath, "Get in the car, dobe. I don't have time for your idiotic chatter."

What occurred next happened so fast, Naruto felt as if he was thrust into fast forward. Gaara had suddenly come out of nowhere, it seemed, gripped Sasuke by the collar of his dark blue button up shirt and dragged him forcefully out the driver's side window. The red headed goth then proceeded to pound his pale fist into the ravens face, all the while spouting vicious curses directed at said man. Sapphire eyes widened and soon the blond was trying to pull the murderous goth away with his good arm.

"Stop it, Gaara! Stop!" Naruto tugged roughly on the pale arm of the enraged goth, aqua-green eyes glanced momentarily into azure blue, then, narrowing into thin slits, turned back to onyx orbs.

"If you ever lay a hand on him again, I'll kill you!" Gaara emitted a low aggressive growl, "If you so much as slap him, that will be the last thing you ever do!"

The Uchiha glared emotionlessly into aqua-green eyes, then gave a sideways glance towards the blond, a dangerous tone tainting his deep voice, "You told him I beat you?"

A shock of terror flooded through the young blond, his eyes widening in fear as he shook his head indicating the negative.

"He didn't have to tell me." The youngest of the three pulled the Uchiha's attention back towards him with a low growl, "It's fucking obvious that you do."

"I see," Sasuke gripped the wrist of the pale hand that was holding the collar of his shirt and tossed it to the side roughly. He swiped a hand down the front of his shirt to straighten the wrinkles and made his way back to the drivers side of the Porsche. He opened the door, but before getting in he glared pointedly at the blond as if promising dire punishment, "Since you seem to enjoy embarrassing me by spinning lies about me for attention, you can find your own way home." with that said, he entered the vehicle, closing the door.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called to him rushing to the passenger side door, only to find it locked. Panic surged through his body as he pounded on the window with an opened tan hand, "Sasuke, don't leave me here! Sasuke, please!" The pleading fell on deaf ears as the midnight blue Porsche pulled away from the parking lot leaving a sobbing blond man behind.

It was the first time that Gaara had ever seen Naruto cry, and he made a mental note that he never wanted to see him cry again. How much he wanted to wrap his pale arms around the older man, to kiss away those heart breaking tears, to kiss him passionately like the kiss they had shared before, and to... Gaara shook the wanton thoughts away and moved towards the young blond to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" came the venom laced growl as the blond jerked away from the red head's touch. Naruto turned to face him with contempt in his red, tear filled eyes, "You just had to make things worse, didn't you? Why can't you just leave me the fuck alone!"

As he watched the young blond walk towards a pay phone, a harsh tightening in the goth's chest made itself known. It happened every time Naruto spoke to him that way. _Why? Why should I care what he says? I've never cared before, so why now?_

Naruto dug into his denim pockets once he arrived at the pay phone, searching for correct change, tears still flowing down his cheeks. He had really screwed up this time. He only hoped that the raven would have calmed down once the blond arrived home. He lifted the receiver, placing it to his ear, then inserted the coins into the narrow slot and began dialing a number.

"What?" came the monotoned voice at the other end of the line.

"Aniki..." Naruto barely got out before sobbing once more.

"Naruto?" a slight hint of concern that Sai only reserved for those who he deemed worthy of his emotions, which was only his brother Naruto, "What's wrong, Otouto? Are you crying?"

"Would you come...pick me up...and take me home?" the blond managed between sobs, "Please?"

"Yeah, No problem," the concern still tinted the normally emotionless raven, "Where are you?"

"The Shougi House...next to...Konoha Grocery,"

"Alright, I'll be right there! Just hold tight!" a dial tone and Naruto replaced the receiver. He turned and leaned back against the brick wall of the store, his hand covering his mouth and muffling his sobs. He slid down the wall into a sitting position. Why are things only getting worse?

* * *

A/N: Well, that's it for now. GAH!! Today is my birthday...I feel so old. That's it! I'm staying 29 for the rest of my life!! I will never turn the big 3-0! I wonder what Sasuke was up to when Namida answered the phone...knows but isn't telling. And the next chapter, we will find out who the real liar is! Ja ne! 


	4. First Time for Everything

**Family Portrait**

by Kami

**Disclamer:** I don't own the characters of Naruto nor the song From the Inside, I do own the characters Joi, Taizen, and Namida and also the premise for this story.

**Summary: **In a family portrait, looks can be deceiving.

**Warnings:** Contains yaoi, mpreg, and domestic violence. Not your thing? Then don't Read! **By the way, Sasuke is a little bit of a bastard in this story...I never really liked him anyways. So if you don't like stories where Sasuke is a bastard to Naruto, this story is not for you. **

A/N: And again I was kidnapped...by Neji Hyuuga this time! Why won't these characters leave me alone until I'm done with the story!! So frustrating having plot bunnies tossed left and right at me while I'm trying to concentrate on this story alone. My Internet decided Sunday was a good day to die...yes, I'm also in a bit of a funk right now...call it Holiday Blues...yet another thing in my way.

And yes I know Sai seems a bit...OOC in this chapter...but in the last chapter I did say that Sai felt that the only person that was worthy of his emotions was Naruto, and Naruto has a tendency to bring out his emotional side. And FYI, Naruto and Sai are **not blood brothers**. They were adopted, but they aren't blood related.

Okay, reviewers this is the one we've all been waiting for! The truth is about to come out! Who's the liar? At the end of this chapter, we'll see who gets chapter 5 dedicated to them! On with the fic!!

**This Chapter is dedicated to my friend and beta, ****Kurai Kisu****! Without her, I would still be struggling with depression and writer's block!!**

Thoughts-_ italics_

Flashbacks- _**bold italics

* * *

**_

I don't know who to trust

No surprise  
(Everyone feels so far away from me)  
Heavy thoughts sift through

Dust and the lies  
(Trying not to break but I'm so tired of this deceit)  
(Every time I try to make myself get back up on my feet)  
(All I ever think about is this)  
(All the tiring time between)  
(And how trying to put my trust in you just takes so much out of me)

Take everything from the inside

And throw it all away  
Cuz I swear for the last time

I won't trust myself with you

Linkin Park

* * *

**Chapter 4-First Time For Everything**

Dull, dark-grey eyes frequently glanced from the highway to the distraught blond figure sitting anxiously on the passenger side of the silver Mazda 626. Sometimes Sai wished he had been in Sasuke's place and not Naruto's adopted brother. If things had been different...if Sai had been the one the golden haired young man had fallen in love with instead of the Uchiha, maybe Naruto would have been happier, maybe their kids might have had a better role model, and maybe Sai would have never turned to cocaine for a release.

The normally stoic raven sighed silently to himself. _Yeah, Naruto is the only person that's capable of making me feel 'anything'. If he had been mine...I probably wouldn't wanted anything to do with blowing coke. _But Naruto wasn't...and Sai did. And in that moment, the frail looking raven knew that the repercussions of his drug usage in the past had now come back to bite him in the ass...figuratively speaking. He had relapsed and, instead of turning to Naruto for some kind of guidance, he continued to use. He couldn't bare to see disappointment in those azure blue eyes...eyes that belong to the only person that ever accepted him and encouraged him when he had hit bottom. After his last relapse, only one thing kept flooding through his mind. The look on his beloved adopted brother's face if he learned that he was using again. He had cried, truly cried, as the image passed though his mind over and over. Sai knew at that time that if he ever saw a look like that on Naruto's face, he being the factor that caused such, he would never be able to forgive himself, even if he needed his support more than ever.

"I love you...you know that, right?" Sai managed anxiously. His hands shook and he gripped the steering wheel to ease his nervous hands. He then smirked with a sideways glance as he added his 'term of endearment', "Dickless."

The younger man wiped away the remaining tears from his azure eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I love you, too...Asshole." But as suddenly as Naruto's smile appeared, it was gone and a look of concern replaced it as he gleaned the anxiousness that his brother was failing to hide from him, "Sai? Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine," The elder of the two men smiled one of his fake smiles, the blond noted.

"Liar...you haven't given me one of those smiles in years," Sai flinched at the disapproving tone in Naruto's voice, "On top of that, you've never tried to hide anything from me before..." Naruto stopped speaking momentarily, realization dawning on him about his older brother's actions, "Sai, are you using again??"

The car swerved, nearly missing a road sign. The frail raven started hyperventilating, his dark gray eyes wide with something akin to horror. He should have known...since they had gotten closer during his recovery, Naruto could read him like an open book. He refused to turn his eyes to look at his blond brother who was urging him to pull to the side of the road.

As soon as the car was in park and the ignition switched off, azure blue gazed upon the form of the shaky raven, "Sai...tell me the truth. Are you using again?"

It was too late to deny it and Sai refused to lie to the only person that he was capable of loving even if the truth was painful. He stared down at his abnormally pale hands before closing his eyes and replying, "...yes..."

A tense silence.

"It's okay, Sai," the older man's eyes shot open with surprise at the tone of those words. He had expected disappointment, maybe even anger. But the young blond's voice sounded reassuring instead, "We both knew it wouldn't be easy. I just wished that you let me know about this sooner. But we can't change the past, ne? I'm here for you, and you should know that. I will never turn you away."

At those reassuring words, Sai finally broke down, fear being driven away along with the tears, relief taking it's place. Warm tan arms wrapped gently around him. He briefly noticed the discomfort of Naruto's cast pressing against his arm as the younger man embraced him. It seemed like an eternity that he sobbed in his younger brother's arms. But in that moment, time didn't matter. He needed this comfort, this support. He needed Naruto's love.

* * *

Sai listened as Naruto's breathing sounded heavier and heavier with each draw, as he pulled into the driveway of the Uchiha manor house. The young blond was trembling, even as he set the vehicle into park and cut off the ignition. He knew that his adopted little brother and the Uchiha were having problems, but he hadn't thought it was so awful that Naruto would dread coming home. Something more was going on, he could feel that Naruto wasn't being completely honest with him either. He had refused to tell Sai what had happened prior to the phone call, but hearing his ray of sunshine sobbing over the phone, he could surmise that it was something serious. Because it would have to be something really horrible to make Naruto cry that hard. 

"Um..." Sai bit his lip momentarily, trying to find the right words to say to his frightened little brother, but the younger man spoke up before he could say anything.

"Sai, I would feel safer if you stayed the night," Naruto managed in a low raspy voice, "Onegai...just tonight. I'll never ask this of you again."

The frail raven placed a reassuring hand on his blond brother's shoulder, "Don't worry...I'll stay with you as long as you want me to."

A small smile graced the bronze whiskered face and a tan hand grasped the pale one on Naruto's shoulder, "Arigatou, Sai."

The two brothers exited the vehicle and made their way towards the front door, Sai, taking the initiative, place a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder to still his anxious and heavy breathing. The crunching sound of their feet on the gravel walkway was the only sound that could be heard as they made the ominous trek to the front door. Anxiously, the younger of the two fumbled around in his pockets searching for the house key and, with a shaky hand, inserted it into the slot of the doorknob. Easing the door open warily, the pair of brother's entered the foyer, stopping short to see the little blond Uchiha drawing on the cream colored wall of the foyer with a black crayon.

"Namida!" Naruto rushed over to his youngest child, pulling the crayon out of her tiny hand and turning her to face him, "What are you doing?! You don't draw on the walls, honey! It's nearly ten o'clock, why aren't you in bed?"

"Daddy said he is busy and leave him alone," Namida pouted, trying to get the crayon back from her mother but failing, "I wanted to draw but couldn't find no paper."

That was all it took to pull Naruto out of the anxiety and fear he was experiencing. An ominous silence and in a voice that almost shook the whole house the blond screamed, "SASUKEEEEEEEE!!"

Never in all the years they grew up together had Sai seen Naruto in this state of rage. His blond brother's azure eyes now appeared to be glowing a feral demonic crimson that caused him to cringe.

"Dobe...are you trying to wake the whole neighborhood?" The door to the study slide open to reveal the Uchiha holding a thick stack of unbound papers in one hand, glaring with an impassive expression on his pale features. His onyx eyes glaring at Naruto momentarily before traveling to meet Sai's gaze. "What the hell is that crack head doing in our home?"

"Namida, go upstairs to your room," The enraged blond managed through gritted teeth, his knuckles cracking as he tightened his fists, "Your father and I need to have a serious talk."

"But, Mommy-" the tiny blond chibi whimpered but was abruptly interrupted.

"I said GO!" Naruto growled out, causing both his daughter and the frail raven beside him to jump. With wide frightened eyes, Namida scurried up the stairs to escape from the wrath below. Feral azure eyes narrowed at their source of fury, "What the hell is wrong with you tonight? What in the hell have you been doing that was so important that you couldn't spare 15 minutes to put the kids to bed? And you call me a 'dobe'. At least I'm responsible enough to put my children's needs before my own, teme! And who in the nine hells made you The Almighty? Walking around with your nose stuck up your own ass, treating me and the kids like dirt, and belittling me and my family...Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Sai stared at the lithe blond before him with terrified awe. Naruto was radiating an aura of rage so fierce, that the pale raven felt as if the very air was burning around him. His blond brother must have been bottling up his rage for so long that now he had finally reached a breaking point. However, it didn't seem to phase the Uchiha in the least. He only walked casually towards the blond, and suddenly backhanded Sai's little brother, causing the young blond to collide against a stand in the foyer, all of it's contents crashing to the floor. A breath caught in Sai's throat, his eyes widened but he could not force his body to move.

Recovering from the blow, Naruto fixed dazed eyes on Sasuke's face as it smugly glared down at the helpless blond. He thrust the stack of freshly typed papers into the younger man's face, "You see this?" The blond slowly nodded, not speaking and the Uchiha smacked his face with the stack of papers, not enough to hurt but enough to humiliate, "What is it?"

"A...manuscript..." the paler raven was surprised at how small and fragile his younger brother's voice had become compared to a few minutes prior.

"Exactly, dobe," The Uchiha's voice was eerily calm. Then another slap to the face with the stack, and the blond flinched, "Which manuscript?"

"T-The...one you were supposed to turn in...two months ago," Sai could hear the fear in Naruto's voice. He needed to do something to protect his brother, he just couldn't get his body to move on command.

"That's right. I finished it tonight. I'm surprised that you've actually have a brain in that empty head of yours," Sasuke taunted, giving his blond husband one more smack with the manuscript for good measure, "Of course you never seem to use it. You've proved that with you're idiotic tendency to open your big mouth. Which reminds me, you sicked that psychotic boyfriend of yours on me." Azure eyes widened with dread as the young blond shook his head vigorously, "Don't deny it. I know you've been fucking him." Onyx eyes narrowed as a expression that promised pain followed, "But that's not why I'm pissed off. You just had to open you're big mouth, didn't you?"

Sai watched in paralyzed horror as a barrage of fists came wailing down on his helpless blond brother, _Naruto...I need to do something...Move...DAMNIT MOVE!! _Before the frail raven realized what he was doing, he suddenly grabbed the Uchiha's wrist in a intense death grip before he could land another blow on the broken male sobbing uncontrollably on the floor.

"Leave. My. Otouto. Alone." A low and deadly calm tone passed Sai's lips, his dark grey eyes fixed on the Uchiha before him, a stoic expression gracing his abnormally pale features. The frail raven's eyes widened with surprise, when, suddenly his arm was twisted painfully behind him.

"Stay out of this, crack head!" A cracking sound came from the older raven's arm and Sai cried out in agony as his vision blurred from pain induced tears. His knees buckled beneath him as he held his fractured arm close to his chest in a state of oblivious shock.

"Sai!" the elder brother barely managed to hear his name, the pain in his arm so intense that he merely slumped the rest of the way to the floor barely aware of his young brother's strangled cries as the younger raven gripped the slender tan neck cutting off the blond's airway.

"MOM!" Sai suddenly snapped out of his stupor at the sound of his oldest niece charging down the stairs followed by the tromping of two pairs of smaller feet. Joi had appeared along with his nephew and tiny blond niece appeared surrounding the volatile raven while he was choking the life out of the now pale blond. Joi gripped her fathers arm tugging as hard as she could, "DAD, STOP! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HIM!"

Little Namida tried to assist her older sister, also tugging on her father's arm. Taizen, however, decided to take matters into his own hands. Sasuke let out a pained yell as the tiny raven sank his teeth into his father's wrist, biting down as hard as he could. It had the desired affect, the older Uchiha released the suffocating blond, who was now gasping for air. The violent raven tried to detach the small boy from his arm, trying to yank it out of the tiny mouth but to no avail. The raven chibi seemed to have no intention of letting go, the inherited obstinance of the Uchiha blood.

"Let go, you little shit!" The older Uchiha growled out as he violently shoved the tiny boy off his arm, the boy flying backwards and his head landing directly on the bottom post of the stairway railing, knocking the tiny raven unconscious. Sasuke didn't have time to react to what he had done to his son. A fierce roar, no, more like a resounding war cry sent chills down the Uchiha's spine. In only a split second, said man found himself on the ground several feet away from where he stood, blood pouring out of his nose. He glanced up to see his husband gripping a metal based lamp in his left hand, blond bangs hanging low overshadowing his eyes.

"If you EVER hurt MY baby AGAIN," Naruto's growl was low and dangerous, "I SWEAR, I'LL KILL YOU!" His voiced softened as he spoke again to his oldest daughter, "Joi, go upstairs and pack some clothes for you, Taizen and Namida. We're leaving."

"Like hell you will!" Sasuke growled as rose to his feet, wiping the blood from his nose.

Azure eyes narrowed into a grave glare, boring into onyx eyes, "Don't. Fuck. With. Me. Teme." The statement earning a gasp from the tiny blond at his side. "Sai? Do you think you can walk without help?"

"Y-Yeah," The frail raven stammered out, steadying himself to his feet as Naruto, dropping the metal lamp, gently scooped his unconscious son into his good arm. His azure eyes filled with concern as they assessed the damage on the tiny raven. On the left side of the boy's forehead was a large gash...he would need stitches...Naruto inwardly cursed himself. Gaara had been right about Sasuke all along. In a short amount of time, Joi appeared, carrying two backpacks full of clothes and Namida and Taizen's favorite toys, a stuffed bear and a pair of plastic action figures from the little boy's favorite cartoon show.

"Let's go," the young blond ordered, and Joi lifted Namida into her arms as they headed towards the front door.

"Get back here, Naruto!" The threatening tone of the elder Uchiha went ignored, as the group headed towards Sai's Mazda, Joi sliding the blond chibi and herself in the back seat.

"Take Taizen, Sai. I'll drive." Naruto handed the small boy over to the injured, shaky raven, who gripped the child tightly with his good arm and entered the passenger side as soon as his young brother opened the door. The moment the young blond was in the driver's seat, locking the doors and turning over the engine, his raven haired husband came charging out of the house, a look of both disbelief and slight panic in his face.

"Naruto! Naruto!" Sasuke tugged on the handle of the car door, trying in vain to open it. He thought Naruto had been bluffing when he said he was leaving. He never thought the blond was truly serious. "Come on, koi! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"You NEVER mean it, Sasuke. But you keep doing it," Narrowed azure eyes focused on the panic stricken Uchiha, "There's only so much a person can take. I guess I've had enough."

Tires squealed as the Mazda backed out of the driveway into the road before driving away from the manor, leaving the Uchiha standing in the middle of the front yard staring in the direction the vehicle disappeared. A pale hand clinched into a fist, nails digging into the palm.

"You won't last a day without me, dobe."

* * *

It was already nearly two in the morning, and Naruto was calmly sitting in the waiting room of the ER waiting on his brother, holding a sleeping blond chibi in his arms while watching his now conscious son playing with his action figures on the floor. Inwardly, he was panicking. He had no money, no place to go. He couldn't stay with Sai, because Sasuke would use that against him to get the children. Divorce...it left a bitter taste in the blond's mouth. He never would have thought it would come down to that. But the more he thought about it, the more realistic it became. Maybe it was for the best. 

But still, without money or a place to go, Naruto was at a standstill. He couldn't stay with his parents. They would probably tell him that it was his fault in the first place. The young blond wracked his brain for possible friends that would gratefully assist him at his time of need. But only two names came to mind. Gaara and Shikamaru. He bit his lip, weighing out the pros and cons of both and, in the end, he decided to call on Shikamaru, leaving Gaara to the side for a last resort.

Naruto turned to his eldest daughter who was currently nursing a can of soda, "Joi, would you hold your sister a minute, I need to make a few phone calls." The raven haired girl nodded and her mother shifted Namida into her arms.

He made his way to the reception desk inquiring if he could use the phone, stating that he had no money to used the pay phones, and the receptionist politely handed him the receiver and dialed out the number for him.

"Who the hell is it!" growled the lazy brunette from the other end of the line, and the blond winced.

"Um...Shika?" He murmured hesitantly.

"Naruto?" The sound of shuffling. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." Again the younger man hesitated, "I'm at the ER."

"WHAT?! What happened? Do you need me to come up there?"

"Actually...I need to ask a favor," Naruto bit his lip, dreading the rejection, "I left Sasuke and...I need a place for me and my kids to stay, until I get my next pay check. Onegai...I'm desperate."

A long pause. The blond could hear his heart pounding inside his head.

"Alright, I'm coming to pick you up," and the younger man let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, "Temari and I have a spare room. I know it's a tight squeeze and it'll be troublesome for all of you to sleep in the same room, but it's all we can offer. And don't worry about waiting 'til your next paycheck. You can stay as long as you need to."

"Arigatou, Shika!"

* * *

It was silent the whole way to Shikamaru's apartment, after dropping off Naruto's groggy raven haired brother at his apartment. The pony tailed brunette had explained when he arrived that Gaara had informed him about the situation that happened outside the coffee house. He also added that the 'troublesome' goth was still at the apartment and that, before Shikamaru had left to come after the group, the red head was pacing the living room floor, something that the brunette never thought he'd see Gaara do. "You must've made quite the impact on him for him to be acting like that," the lazy manager had stated. 

He continuously made frequent side glances directed at the blond, gleaning the fresh bruises on his cheek and around his neck. He thanked Kami or whatever god was out there that Naruto had come to his senses before he was seriously hurt or worse. Soon, they were pulling into the parking lot of the apartment complex and removing themselves from the vehicle heading towards the stairs. Once they reached Shikamaru's apartment door, the lazy brunette fished out his keys and unlocked the door.

"It's small, but it's home," the young brunette murmured as he opened the door, ushering in the small group, Joi carrying a sleeping Namida and Naruto, a now awaking Taizen. The moment Naruto entered the living room he caught side of the young red head, fidgeting on the couch anxiously. The moment the blond caught his eye, he jumped off the couch like he had been shocked and moved closer to his object of affection.

"Naruto," the goth's normally stoic features were twisted with concern, "Are you alright? Did that bastard hurt you?"

The older of the two gave Gaara a reassuring smile, "I'm fine...and...I'm sorry for yelling at you last night. You were right."

The young red head let out a breath of relief, his sea green eyes assessing the blonds condition and landing on the fresh bruise on his cheek, his features twisting into that of pure rage "He did hurt you! I'll kill him!"

"Gaara," Naruto's soft tone attempting to calm the enraged goth, "It's okay now. I left him."

Biting back his anger, the red headed goth gave him a sharp nod, then gave Naruto a sly smirk, "About time."

He started to move past the older man, but the young blond spoke again, "Gaara?"

"Yeah?"

"Arigatou."

* * *

A/N: Okay, the winners of the 'Guess Who's Lying' Contest are Onimusha and arashi-otome! Next Chapter will be dedicated to them! Also, I'm thinking about holding a fanart contest for this story, the winner will get a oneshot with the pairing of their choice (excluding SasuNaru because I can't stand writing the pairing, sorry)! Let me know if you want to enter by review and leave your email address for me to contact you! Ja Ne!


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